When this med student and nurse met, they didn't know that study dates would turn into the biggest moment in their lives. After many home-cooked meals by Zach, it was a walk down a Mexican beach when it all hit our bride and the pieces of a surprise engagement started coming together. After instantly crying, laughing, and saying yes simultaneously, the couple flew back to celebrate their engagement over the Christmas holidays with their families and friends.
The bride always wanted a destination wedding, but when logistics came into play the couple decided to keep it in Florida, so it gave them all the destination feels with more control over the planning process. A simple coffee meeting with Tracie Domino Events and Jacqui Cole Photography made the bride's selection easy. She said they instantly clicked and they were the best decision hands down.
The bride always envisioned herself in a yellow lengha. And, she was committed to finding the perfect one! After shopping trips to New Jersey, New York, and Toronto left her empty-handed. She went to Vancouver to find the special number. Vivah made the process easy and fun for the bride as she was able to create custom outfits for her Sangeet and Wedding.
From the live band at the reception to the upbeat melodies by Pavan Events and the Sangeet dances, this couple enjoyed every moment of their celebration.
"Do what you want and don't let others influence a decision just to make them happy – big families have lots of opinions but at the end of the day, it is your wedding so make it yours. Also, make sure to have alone time with the groom during the day – we had lunch alone together after our ceremony before getting ready for the Christian ceremony and reception and it was perfect."
Congratulations Marisha & Zach!
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
Zach and I met while he was in Medical School and I was working full time as a nurse while in school for my nurse practitioner degree as well. When we met and started dating a lot of our days would consist of a lot of studying together – and in our down time it was just enjoying each others company – Zach is an amazing cook, and always jokes that if med school hadn’t worked out he would have become a chef so most of our down time was spent relaxing with homecooked meals and Netflix. One of our first extended breaks together was about a year and a half after we had met, and we decided that before spending the Christmas holiday with our families, we spend a week in Mexico on our own. Thinking back on it now I could see all the clues were there but I wasn’t suspicious at all at the time. My friends all asked if “ I was ready for the trip with my nails done etc etc….” and would ask me about what I was wearing, and Zach was also being very protective of his backpack (that had the ring) – which was very out of the norm …. Zach planned a private dinner on the beach the first night we were at the resort and it wasn’t till we were walking down to our dinner that I realized what was happening. We still joke that we both pretty much instantly started laughing and crying as soon as he got down on one knee I don’t even remember what he said or saying yes – but overall it was perfection. We spend the rest of the week just relaxing on the beach in Mexico before flying back Christmas Eve to celebrate with our families for the next week!
Tell us how you went about planning your wedding, and your overall experience with the Venues, Hair & Makeup, Outfits, Decor Theme, and all of the other important details.
I don’t even remember when but I know 2 people I had been following on social media for years before the wedding (and even before I met Zach) were my planner Tracie Domino & photographer Jacqui Cole. The day that we flew back from Mexico (post proposal) my parents actually couldn’t even pick us up from the airport because they were at another local wedding that Tracie was planning and I was furiously texting my mom about all the details. While on our layover I emailed Tracie and got her out of office message till after the holidays. I knew she only does a few events a year so I was just keeping my fingers crossed till that mid January time when she got back to me and confirmed meeting.
I was so busy with school / work that I didn’t see how I would have even done it without her.
I had always considered a destination wedding but with so many moving parts to the 5 day celebration we did – after lots of consideration we decided to keep the wedding to a venue in Florida. Like with choosing a planner there was only a handful of Florida destinations I would even consider – and they ranged from Orlando to Miami.
We also had to take into consideration dates – we settled on only a few weekends that would have worked in Spring 2020 – Zach would be matching into his residency program mid March and we would be moving somewhere undecided that June so we settled on April / early May. That narrowed down venues significantly – and the Ritz Carlton Naples, which has always been a TOP choice was very accomadating to all of our various venue/ballroom needs/ rooms/ dates and it was so gorgeous on the beach – so it still kind of felt like a destination we didn’t need to fly to.
When Tracie told me Jacqui Cole was avail that weekend it was a no brainer- I had admired her work on IG forever. We met for coffee one afternoon and spoke for hours and just clicked. Hands down best decision
Tracie made the wedding planning seamless – I have been planning and re-planning wedding ideas for years on pinterest and during all of our design meetings I essentially just pulled up my pinterest board and asked “can we make this happen” – and between Tracie and Amanda at MMD events – they made my dream wedding come true.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I always knew I wanted to wear a yellow lengha. I cant really explain it but I knew in my mind exactly what I wanted but between shopping in Toronto, Jersey, New York – I was just not finding what I wanted. Through some friends I kept getting suggestions to go to Vancouver so I took of a few days and went with my mom. It was also sucha seamless process. After visiting a few of the stores in the Surrey area I found a beautiful inspo lengha in a burgundy color – and using that as my base inspiration I fully customized the lengha. In the process I also designed the most amazinggggggggg sangeet outfit which I think I still love even more than my wedding lengha!
Vivah made it a real one stop shop because we customized all the grooms outfits, families, and bridal party kurtas and sarees. It was such a fun process.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Just the overall design process and seeing it all come together. Food and cake tasting was also super fun!
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Grand Bevy – custom craft cocktail
The Band -- we went with an Indian DJ for the sangeet night and he also coordinated the baarat for us as well – but for the reception we opted for a band which a lot of our guests had never been to a wedding with a live band so that was unique and enjoyable! It was like being at a concert!
Also all of our sangeet performances were on point! such a fun night
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
Honestly the whole week – depending on what I think about – but it also wernt by too fast I am SO thankful to have had amazing videographers to capture all the moments that I just rewatch [almost] daily.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Do what you want and don’t let others influence a decision just to make them happy – big families have lots of opinions but at the end of the day, it is your wedding so make it yours. Make sure to have alone time with the groom during the day – we had lunch alone together after our ceremony before getting ready for the Christian ceremony and reception and it was perfect. Just got to chill and unwind together.
